2012 RESOURCE GUIDE Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action Letter from the Commissioner Dear Colleagues: Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 2012 Resource Guide is the product of a collaboration among the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy—Strengthening Families. This year’s Resource Guide reflects the theme of the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect’s Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: Network for Action meeting that was held in June 2011. At that meeting, national and Federal prevention partners came together to develop a shared vision, engage in shared action, and strengthen networks and partnerships. That meeting also helped prepare the prevention community for the 2012 18th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect: Celebrating the Past and Imagining the Future. This year, 2012, is the Children’s Bureau’s Centennial year, a time to reflect on past efforts, celebrate how far we have come, and envision what we as partners can do in the next century to prevent child maltreatment and support our nation’s children and families. In the coming year, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families will focus on social and emotional well-being as a critical component of its overall mission to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children. The goal is to support efforts to improve the overall functioning of children and families to ensure that all families have safe, stable, and nurturing environments and promote children’s success from childhood into adulthood. The 2012 Resource Guide embodies the partnership that exists among national organizations, Federal partners, and parents who are committed to preventing child maltreatment and promoting well-being within families and communities. Its goal is to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect. The Resource Guide focuses on five protective factors previously identified to build family strengths and promote optimal child and youth development, along with a sixth factor added this year—social and emotional competence of children. Information about these protective factors is augmented with tools and strategies for integrating these factors into community programs and systems. Agencies, policymakers, advocates, service providers, and parents alike will find resources in this book to help them promote these six important factors in communities and families. It has been proven that effective early prevention efforts are less costly to our nation and to individuals than trying to fix things later. This Resource Guide provides many suggestions to help communities “get it right” when it comes to preventing child abuse and promoting well-being. We thank you for participating in this important effort and for the work you do each day to build promising futures for our nation’s children. Bryan Samuels Commissioner Administration on Children, Youth and Families Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action ii http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing iii Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action Table of Contents About the Resource Guide 1 Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork 3 Prevention, Promotion, Well-Being, and the Network for Action 3 Levers for Change: Deepening and Sustaining a Protective-Factors Approach 6 Chapter 2: Working With Families: The Six Protective Factors 9 Nurturing and Attachment 9 Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development 11 Parental Resilience 13 Social Connections 15 Concrete Supports for Parents 17 Social and Emotional Competence of Children 19 Chapter 3: Engaging Your Community 21 Engaging Community Partners 21 Tips for Working With Specific Groups 23 Engaging Media to Build Your Network for Action 26 Chapter 4: Protecting Children 28 Chapter 5: Tip Sheets for Parents and Caregivers 31 Keeping Your Family Strong 33 Cómo mantener a su familia fuerte 35 Bonding With Your Baby 37 Cómo fortalecer los lazos de afecto con su bebé 38 Dealing With Temper Tantrums 39 Cómo lidiar con los berrinches 40 Parenting Your School-Age Child 41 Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action iv http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing Cómo criar a su hijo en edad escolar 42 Connecting With Your Teen 43 Cómo relacionarse con su hijo adolescente 44 Teen Parents … You’re Not Alone 45 Hay muchos padres adolescentes como usted 46 Diez maneras de ser un mejor padre 47 Diez maneras de ser un mejor padre 48 Raising Your Grandchildren 49 Cómo criar a sus nietos 50 Military Families 51 Familias militares 52 How to Develop Strong Communities 53 Cómo desarrollar comunidades fuertes 54 Parenting Your Child With Developmental Delays and Disabilities 55 Cómo criar a su hijo con retrasos de desarrollo y discapacidades 57 Calendar: 30 Ways to Promote Child Well-Being During National Child Abuse Prevention Month 59 Calendario: 30 Formas de Promover el Bienestar Infantil Durante el Mes Nacional de la Prevención del Abuso Infantil 60 Chapter 6: Resources 61 National Child Abuse Prevention Partners 61 Federal Interagency Work Group on Child Abuse and Neglect 63 http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing 1 Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action About the Resource Guide This Resource Guide was developed to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. It was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy—Strengthening Families. The resources featured represent the work of a broad-based partnership of national organizations, Federal partners, and parents committed to strengthening families and communities. What’s Inside The Resource Guide was created primarily to support community-based child abuse prevention professionals who work to prevent child maltreatment and promote well-being. However, others such as policymakers, parent educators, family support workers, health-care providers, program administrators, teachers, child care providers, mentors, and clergy also will find the resources useful. Resources include: • Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork—Information about the research and theory on which the Resource Guide is based, including protective factors that help reduce child abuse and neglect and strategies for creating lasting change in how communities support families • Chapter 2: Working With Families: The Six Protective Factors—Detailed information about each of the protective factors and tips for infusing them into programs and direct practice with families and children • Chapter 3: Engaging Your Community—Strategies to help build community awareness and support the development of broad-based community partnerships • Chapter 4: Protecting Children—Information about why child abuse occurs, risk factors, consequences, and identifying and reporting maltreatment • Chapter 5: Tip Sheets for Parents and Caregivers—Strength-based tip sheets on specific parenting topics that can be used in discussions or visits with caregivers, and a calendar of activities for Child Abuse Prevention Month • Chapter 6: Resources—Contact information for private and Federal partners working nationally to strengthen families Many more resources for strengthening families are available from the national organizations and Federal partners listed in our resource directory beginning on page 61. Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 2 http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing Suggested Uses for the Resource Guide • Distribute copies to key community partners working with children and families, including child welfare agencies, child advocacy centers, public health agencies, child care centers, family therapists, media representatives, schools, faith communities, and policymakers. • Use the Resource Guide as a topic for discussion at an upcoming meeting of your family-strengthening community partnership. • Make copies of the parenting tip sheets (Chapter 5) for use in parent education classes or parent support groups. • Provide copies to those who regularly offer trainings to family support workers in your community. • Use the information in the Resource Guide and in the online media kit when developing your own media kits, press releases, and other public awareness tools. • Make the information available to those in your community who are writing grants to support family-strengthening work. Please let us know how you are using this year’s Resource Guide and how we can better meet your needs! Take our brief survey: http://www. childwelfare.gov/pubs/surveys/PreventionGuide.cfm On the Web The Child Welfare Information Gateway website provides links to resources and information about child abuse prevention, family strengthening, family-centered practice, family support, family preservation services, and many related topics. Throughout the Resource Guide, links to related Information Gateway webpages will provide you with a wealth of additional information: http://www.childwelfare.gov This Resource Guide can be ordered or downloaded from the Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect section of the Child Welfare Information Gateway website. Also available on the website are an online media kit, activity calendar, a short video, and downloadable logos and graphics that may be used to customize Child Abuse Prevention Month resources for local communities: http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth The FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention website offers information about the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), community-based child abuse prevention priorities, State Lead Agencies, outcome accountability, parent leadership, and other important topics. Also available on the site are an evaluation toolkit, archived teleconferences, a link to the FRIENDS Online Training Center, and downloadable factsheets, learning tools, and publications: http://www.friendsnrc.org The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) coordinates the national Strengthening Families initiative, which is being implemented in more than 30 States. Strengthening Families engages early childhood programs and a diverse group of partners in preventing child abuse and neglect by building five 1 research-based protective factors that are shown to correlate with reduced incidence of child abuse and neglect. The Strengthening Families National Network provides tools, peer support, technical assistance, and other resources for States implementing Strengthening Families: http://www.strengtheningfamilies.net 1 The Strengthening Families framework recognizes five of the six protective factors discussed in this Resource Guide: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, knowledge of parenting and child development, and social and emotional competence of children. CHAPTER 1 http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing 3 Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action Chapter 1: Laying the Groundwork Prevention, Promotion, Well-Being, and the Network for Action Exciting efforts are underway across the nation to prevent child maltreatment and promote family and community well-being. Building on the convergence of prevention efforts during the last few years and the latest research in related fields, the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect (OCAN) is emphasizing four key areas to strengthen the national Network for Action: • Conceiving a broader definition of well-being • Promoting protective factors as key strategies to enhance well-being • Supporting evidence-informed and evidence-based practices • Strengthening critical partnerships and networks Conceiving a Broader Definition of Well-Being Although there is no universal definition, well-being can be broadly conceptualized as healthy social and emotional functioning that ensures families can create safe, secure, and responsive environments and allows children to be successful during childhood and into adulthood. In the coming years, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) will focus on social and emotional well-being as a critical component of its overall mission to ensure the safety, permanency, and well-being of children. The core domains of social and emotional well-being identified by ACYF include the following: • Understanding Experiences. Whether one’s world view is generally positive or negative impacts how experiences are interpreted and integrated. • Developmental Tasks. Strategies that are attuned to the developmental impact of positive and negative experiences, and that address related strengths and deficits, help ensure children and youth develop along a healthy path. • Coping Strategies. Young people who have been presented with healthy stressors and opportunities to overcome them with appropriate encouragement and support are more likely to develop an array of positive, productive coping strategies. • Protective Factors. The presence of certain contextual factors (e.g., supportive relatives, involvement in after-school activities) and characteristics (e.g., self-esteem, relationship skills) is integral to promoting positive outcomes for children, youth, and families. CHAPTER 1 Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 4 http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing Promoting Protective Factors as Key Strategies to Enhance Well-Being Protective factors are conditions that, when present in families and communities, increase the health and well-being of children and families. These components are critical to ensuring that children and youth are successful at home, in school, at work, and in the community, now and as adults. Protective factors serve as buffers, helping parents who might otherwise be at risk of abusing their children to find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress. For years, researchers have been studying both the risk factors common among families experiencing abuse and neglect and those factors that protect families who are under stress. There is growing interest in understanding the complex ways in which these risk and protective factors interact within the context of a child’s family, community, and society to affect both the incidence and consequences of abuse and neglect. Research has found that successful interventions must both reduce risk factors and promote protective factors to ensure the well-being of children and families. This Resource Guide emphasizes the following six protective factors as key elements in supporting and enhancing child and family well-being: • Nurturing and attachment • Knowledge of parenting and child development • Parental resilience • Social connections • Concrete supports for parents • Social and emotional competence of children Supporting Evidence-Informed and Evidence-Based Practices We also know that prevention programs must be effective in order for our limited resources to produce the positive outcomes that we want to see. Evidence-based family-strengthening practice involves identifying, assessing, and implementing strategies that are supported by scientific research. Just as we expect our family physician to keep abreast of treatment options that work best, we want to use evidence in our own work to: • Ensure we are integrating the best available research with current child abuse prevention program expertise to guide our work with children and families • Invest our limited dollars in programs and practices backed by evidence that shows they produce positive outcomes for children and families Safe, Stable, and Nurturing Relationships: Another View of Well-Being Colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Violence Prevention, underscore the importance of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships (SSNRs) as one of the “essentials for childhood.” SSNRs between children and their caregivers provide a buffer against the effects of child maltreatment and are fundamental to healthy brain development. They also shape the development of children’s physical, emotional, social, behavioral, and intellectual capacities, which ultimately affect their health as adults. Promoting SSNRs can have a positive impact on a broad range of health problems and on the development of skills that will help children reach their full potential. Understanding the role that social factors play, as well as interventions that work to address them, may improve our ability to plan and implement effective prevention policies using a public health approach. For more information about CDC’s child maltreatment priorities, visit: http:// www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/childmaltreatment/ index.html CHAPTER 1 http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing 5 Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action • Become more informed funders, consumers, and com- munity partners to prevent child abuse and neglect • Foster a culture of continuous quality improvement by promoting ongoing evaluation and quality- assurance activities across all prevention and family support programs Communities need to evaluate the level of evidence supporting any specific program and consider its appropriateness. Practices and programs may be validated by controlled clinical studies or other forms of evidence (“evidence-based”), or they may use the best available research and practice knowledge to guide program design and implementation (“evidence- informed”). In either case, programs and practices should be responsive to families’ cultural backgrounds, community values, and individual preferences. The Prevention web section identifies evidence-based programs: http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing Strengthening Critical Partnerships and Networks When service providers work with families to increase protective factors, they also help families build and draw on natural support networks within their family and community. These partnerships among parents, communities, and service systems are critical to families’ long-term success and for sustaining a vibrant, safe, and healthy community. Similarly, we must continue to build bridges across agencies and disciplines at the national level. OCAN’s Network for Action was launched to strengthen the nationwide network that prevents child maltreatment and promotes well-being for children and their families. The purpose of this network is to build adaptive, systemic capacity across the United States that will reach individuals, families, communities, institutions, and the society at large. We know that many creative people are committed to preventing child maltreatment. Many institutions (formal and informal; public and private; local, regional, and national) are working to strengthen families and communities with the intention of preventing child abuse and neglect. Some of these efforts are currently networked and can build complementary programs, share information, and leverage resources. However, we know that individuals and organizations at all levels are sometimes disconnected and sometimes in conflict. Through our new Network for Action, we are working to promote a shared vision, engage in shared action, and strengthen relationships at the individual, family, community, State, and national levels to prevent child maltreatment and promote well-being. We hope you will join us in our new Network for Action! For more information, visit the Network for Action website: http://www.friendsnrc.org/network-for-action [...]... Website What are the consequences? • Risk and protective factors for child abuse: http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors For survivors, the impact of child maltreatment can be profound. Research shows that child maltreatment is associated with adverse health and mental health outcomes in children and families, and those negative 1 Statistics on this page are taken from U.S Department of Health and Human... regulations and procedures that govern everyday practice in child and family services is an effective way to create broad and sustainable change Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action • Link to cross-systems planning efforts • Adapt contractual methods for funding and defining programs to include a protective-factors focus • Use protective factors to define a shared... Well-Being: A Network for Action CHAPTER 3 • Develop partnerships with local health-care provider organizations For example, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians have local chapters throughout the United States: http://www.aap org/member/chapters/chaplist.cfm and https:// nf.aafp.org/eweb//DynamicPage.aspx?webcode =ChpList&Site=aafpv • Many hospitals offer... • Age-inappropriate knowledge of sex Emotional abuse • Extremes in behavior, ranging from overly aggressive to overly passive • Delayed physical, emotional, or intellectual development 30 http://www.childwelfare.gov /preventing Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action http://www.childwelfare.gov /preventing. .. engagement and communication with parents about their children’s social and emotional development and the actions the program is taking to facilitate it Children often take home what they are learning at school • Encourage and provide opportunities for parents to share resources with each other and exchange ideas about how they promote their children’s social and emotional development • Take timely action. .. ResourcesForAction.htm http://www.childwelfare.gov /preventing 25 CHAPTER 3 Engaging Media to Build Your Network for Action The media have always provided an important channel for getting the message out about preventing child maltreatment and promoting well-being Today, a widerthan-ever variety of media strategies is available to help your organization or community partnerships spread the word about events,... already been adopted by State leaders in New Jersey and Maryland and may serve as a useful model for others wishing to advance this work in their own States and organizations Visit: http://www.enoughabuse.org Child Welfare Standards for Prevention The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is working with partners across the country to create an agreed-upon definition for “prevention of child abuse and neglect”... contact: info@ctfalliance.org Policies and Systems A protective-factors approach can serve as a platform for coordination across diverse initiatives and can aid in the development of common language and goals for families in all levels of work The common focal point is building protective factors in families to prevent maltreatment and promote child well-being Integrating a protective-factors approach... institutions, and the society at large Twelve Strategic Projects of national significance have been selected for the Network for Action Below are three examples of how these projects reflect the Levers for Change Parent Engagement and Leadership Parents Anonymous, Inc., is creating a National Parent Helpline® Outreach Plan to further the national prevention and promotion agenda This plan will engage parents and. .. part of the new standards. To learn more about CWLA Standards of Excellence, visit: http://www.cwla.org/programs/standards/default.htm To learn more about other Network for Action Strategic Projects, visit: http://friendsnrc.org/strategic-projects 8 http://www.childwelfare.gov /preventing Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action Chapter 2: Working With Families: The Six . Youth and Families Administration for Children and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being:. educational materials about parenting and child development. Preventing Child Maltreatment and Promoting Well-Being: A Network for Action 12 http://www.childwelfare.gov /preventing CHAPTER